Shells
by athenanoctea
Summary: It had been on a whim that she had dragged him along that day, but it had led to them sharing a moment that he hadn't forgotten.


**Title:** Shells (1/1)

**Author**: carpenyx

**Date**: 7/07/2007

**Rating**: G

**Characters/Pairings**: Kara/Lee

**Genre**: Fluff, Romance

**Summary**: It had been on a whim that she had dragged him along that day, but it had led to them sharing a moment that he hadn't forgotten.

**Spoilers**: None; set during season 2, after "Home" Part 2.

**Beta**: nebakanezer

**Word Count**: 690

**Disclaimer**: I do not own, just playing on the Galactica with my pilots. No copyright infridgement intended.

**Shells**

It hadn't been easy for Kara to readjust to life on Galactica. She would not talk about what had happened on Caprica and she kept to herself a lot. To Lee's surprise, one night, she climbed into his bunk and it became their nightly routine thereafter.

"Do you remember that cold day down at the bay on Caprica?" Lee's voice cut through the stillness. "You had convinced me to skip class that afternoon…"

Kara opened her eyes and tilted her head to look at him. "When I pushed you into the freezing water?" The corners of her lips curled into a slight smirk.

"Yeah and why did you do that again?" Lee propped himself up on his elbow and faced her.

"You were being an ass," she said nonchalantly.

"As I recall you were just jealous of the girl I was dating."

Kara chuckled. "Oh yeah! The whore of the Academy. What was her name again?"

"Suzi." Lee scrunched his face in disdain at the thought.

"Gods. I hated her."

"That's because she got me first," Lee pointed out.

Kara stuck her tongue at him.

"What'd I say about that?"

"Dunno – what?"

"Don't tease unless you plan on using it."

Kara leaned towards him slowly, her lips barely brushed up against his, and then within a flash of a second she sloppily licked his cheek.

"Gross, Kara!" Lee grimaced and wiped his cheek.

Kara laughed. "I used it."

"I can see that, thank you." Despite Lee's disgust, it was moments like these that made him cherish her so much.

Kara revealed a different side of herself when they were alone late at night, when the rest of the ship slept. She sometimes let her guard down, well as much as Kara could. When her face lit up with her trademark smirk, it made Lee's heart skip a beat. He hadn't kept his feelings for her hidden, he often would tell her how much he loved her. Something had happened back on Caprica though, that made it almost impossible to get her to reciprocate. He took what he could get and it was enough… for now.

"So, why'd you bring up the bay?" she said prodingly.

"Remember what I gave you?" It had been on a whim that she had dragged him along that day, but it had led to them sharing a moment that he hadn't forgotten.

"Yeah…"

Lee reached under his pillow and pulled out a small cloth pouch. It was tied shut with a ribbon. "You gave it back to me on the day you told me about you and Zak. I held onto it." He looked at her.

"You kept it?"

"I wasn't really sure why but I did..."

Kara watched him, not really certain where he was going with this.

"I've spent the last couple of weeks searching and collecting more."

"How?" she asked, genuinely surprised.

"It wasn't easy," he admitted. "Some people weren't very sympathic and others thought that I was just crazy." He looked at her. "But I was able to find enough… for this." He handed the small bag to her.

Kara bit her lower lip slightly as she took it from him. "You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to Kara."

She tugged on the ribbon and loosened the binding. She peeked inside than back to him. "Oh Gods, Lee…"

The look on her face made Lee brighten with a smile.

Kara reached into the pouch and pulled out a bracelet made up of small shells, all varying in color and texture, and strung carefully on a sturdy string. "It's..."

"That one… there," he pointed to the shell in the middle. "That's the one I gave you that day on Caprica. It's just a little piece of… home."

"I don't know what to say, Lee. It's… beautiful." Kara slipped it onto her wrist and her face lit up as she leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I love you, Kara," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Kara smiled as she snuggled into his arms – a perfect fit, like two halves of a shell.


End file.
